Amoeba Records in Los Angeles recently purchased a large record collection that had a lot of great, rare and one-of-a-kind items. But one piece in particular that stands out from the rest.
One of only five test pressings known to exist of an early version of Bob Dylan’s classic album Blood on the Tracks now sits on the shelves of Amoeba Hollywood. The pressing includes four previously unreleased takes of songs from the album (“Lily, Rosemary & The Jack Of Hearts,” “Idiot Wind,” “If You See Her, Say Hello” and “Tangled Up In Blue”), plus an alternate take of “You’re a Big Girl Now” that was released on 1985’s Biograph box set.
bob dylanThe story goes that in the fall of 1974, Bob Dylan went home for the holidays with a copy of his newly recorded album Blood on the Tracks, which was set to release in weeks. The album had been written after touring with The Band and becoming estranged from his wife, Sara, and though the resulting album delves deeply into troubled relationships, Dylan himself has denied that the album is autobiographical.
Upon listening to the record, which was recorded at A & R Recording in New York, Dylan’s brother, David Zimmerman, suggested that Dylan re-record some of the songs because too many sounded the same. Dylan then stopped production of the album to re-record half of it at Sound 80 in Minneapolis with different musicians, ending up with a 10-song album evenly split between the two sessions.
The ultra rare pressing was made at a Columbia Records plant in Santa Maria, Calif. It is listed at $12,000, making it the most expensive piece Amoeba has ever had for sale.
